even when
it is not shining
I believe in love
even when
I cannot feel it
I believe in God
even when
He is silent
These words were written on the wall of a cellar in Cologne where Jews had been hiding from the Nazis. In the midst of perhaps the most terrible atrocity ever perpetrated by 'civilized' Man, they refused to become less. No one would have blamed them for heaping imprecations on the heads of their oppressors, or even that of their Creator. Instead they entered fully into their humanity and left a message of hope and love to inspire generations to come.
The poem has been set to music. It was sung by a childrens' choir to accompany the lighting of candles at Britain's first Holocaust Memorial service on 27 January 2001.
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Candle image © Tricia Donovan 2001. All rights reserved